According to Rogers, the last dinner service at Swank will be on July 26.
Rogers partnered with Sharon van Meter at Beckley 1115 in 2022, and in spring of 2023, purchased a majority share of the restaurant. When the Observer visited for a full review later that year, we fell in love with what felt like a close secret among neighbors, where the food was truly the star of the show. We added Beckley 1115 to our Top 100 Restaurants in 2024.
In 2024, Rogers rebranded Beckley 1115 as Swank. He did some remodeling to their small dining room, adding a full bar and squeezing in more tables, but the same goodness on the menu prevailed. However, the limitations of Swank’s small space played a role in Rogers' decision to move on.
“We decided not to stay and pursue a larger space,” Rogers says. “We do want to keep the spirit of Swank at our new spot.”
Swank's small space was part of its charm, but Chef Luke Rogers has plans that need more room to be brought to life.
Alison McLean
“It’s a blend of my cultures,” Rogers says. “It’s kind of a build off Swank. We’re gonna go heavier in steaks, but expand off some of the Italian themes as well.”
The new building is certainly an upgrade. Rogers says a design walk-through of the new space has already been completed, and full plans for the build out are coming soon. The building will feature an upscale dining room on the main floor, an indoor/outdoor bar and a more casual rooftop lounge upstairs. We imagine the views of downtown from the rooftop will be stunning, and Rogers says the upstairs space will have a glass enclosure so it can be used year-round.
With a main dining room that will seat up to 125 guests, and the upstairs area accommodating around 75 guests, Rogers' new restaurant will be orders of magnitude larger than Swank's homey confines. Each floor will have its own kitchen, with an elevated dinner menu downstairs and a more casual experience in the upstairs space.
Rogers plans to have his new restaurant ready in time for the World Cup’s arrival in Dallas in the summer of 2026. While that timeline seems far off, he says there’s a lot of work to do in the interim.
“We want the full experience on Day 1,” Rogers says. “We thought about opening in phases, but really we want our guests to have everything there for them when we open for the first time.”
Rogers also plans to continue a supper club pop-up that he started at Swank as a way to stay engaged with their regular customers, as well as try out menu ideas that may land at the new restaurant.
As ambitious as the new space sounds, Rogers has even bigger goals in mind.
“I want it to be Michelin star level,” he says. “For us to do that and do it our way, in a Texan style, I think it has the opportunity to be really special. And as a chef, if I could reach that Michelin level, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of."
Swank, 1115 Beckley Avenue, will close after dinner service on July 26.
